Call for Proposals: EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP: THE IMPACT OF POLICY REFORMS

                         CALL FOR PROPOSALS:

             EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH IN ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
                    THE IMPACT OF POLICY REFORMS

             Jointly sponsored by the World Bank Group
              and the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation


     OVERVIEW:

     Entrepreneurship is important for the continued dynamism of
     the modern economy and contributes to economic growth
     worldwide. Yet many countries put in place regulations that
     make it more difficult to start and operate a new firm.
     These regulations can affect the creation of new firms, the
     average size of firms, and the dynamism of incumbent firms.
     Because of onerous regulations, many firms might choose to
     stay small and informal and might be unable to realize
     their full growth potential. The 2007 World Bank Group
     Entrepreneurship Database, which includes measures of
     entrepreneurial activity in eighty-four developing and
     industrial countries from 2003 to 2005, finds significant
     relationships between entrepreneurial activity and the
     quality and governance of the legal and regulatory
     environment.

     To better understand the factors that encourage
     entrepreneurship, the World Bank Group and the Kauffman
     Foundation are jointly offering funding of up to US$35,000
     for research projects that will study what contributes to
     greater entrepreneurship and formal sector participation,
     and the impact of related policy reforms. We are
     particularly interested in "experimental" field work to
     study the impact of policy reforms on firm entry,
     performance, and survival. The experimental designs can
     range from collecting and analyzing detailed data before
     and after a government reform, to simulating a particular
     reform with targeted or randomized interventions.


     TOPICS:

     While submissions from a wide range of perspectives and
     topics are welcome, we invite papers on the following:

     - The causal effects of institutional, regulatory, and
       fiscal reforms on entrepreneurial activity;

     - The impact of reforms to encourage greater transitioning
       from the informal to the formal sector, and the impact of
       formal sector registration on firm borrowing and growth;

     - The effects of financial, operational, and management
       constraints on entrepreneurship and policies that help
       alleviate these constraints.

     Research findings will be disseminated at a conference
     planned for 2009. The conference will bring together
     policymakers and researchers who study entrepreneurship and
     self-employment in an international context. The aim is to
     draw lessons learned from current research and to propose
     future research.


     SUBMISSION DETAILS:

     Interested authors are encouraged to submit a research
     proposal that includes:

     - An abstract of the intended paper;
     - A brief description of the contribution to current
       literature;
     - An outline of the methodologies to be used;
     - An itemized budget, including additional sources of
       funding; and
     - A brief statement about the current state of the research
       project.

     Research proposals of no more than 10 pages are to be
     submitted electronically (in either a .PDF or Word file) by
     February 1, 2008 to:

     CONTACT:       Mani Jandu
     Email:         MAILTO:mjandu@worldbank.org

     Authors will be notified of acceptance by March 15, 2008.
     A pre-conference is scheduled for fall 2008 and the formal
     conference will take place in 2009. Authors of accepted
     papers will be reimbursed for economy transportation
     expenses for both the pre-conference and conference.


     ORGANIZING COMMITTEE:

     Leora Klapper, World Bank
     Asli Demirguc-Kunt, World Bank
     Vyjayanti Desai, International Finance Corporation
     Ray Fisman, Columbia University
     Inessa Love, World Bank
     Antoinette Schoar, MIT
     Robert Strom, Kauffman Foundation
     Chris Woodruff, University of California, San Diego


     FURTHER INFORMATION:

     For additional information, please contact:

     CONTACT:       Leora Klapper
                    Senior Economist, Development Research Group
                    World Bank
     Email:         MAILTO:lklapper@worldbank.org

     The World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Database is available
     at:

http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/sme.nsf/Content/Entrepreneurship+Database

     To learn more about the Kauffman Foundation's research
     initiatives, visit:

     http://www.kauffman.org
Posted 12/7/07